|
Shirec posted:So I have some updates from the bird rescue I went to! And updates mean pictures! I wasn't allowed to touch any of the birds, but this place was so fantastic. All the birds had tons of space and toys, and it was heart warming to see. Bosley reminds me of our old rescue B&G macaw, Basil (who was also a girl, but preferred he/him pronouns  )https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXjMDDmV4QA (cameraphone video from 2003, so not very good quality) Bas was a grumpy little sod, but he'd had a hard first few years of his life, being passed around some not very good homes in a cage far too small for him and was eventually returned to his breeder when he'd picked himself almost to oblivion. We adopted Bas when he was about 3 (and I was about 5). We tried everything to stop him picking, but the habit was just too strong. He never regrew the colour feathers on his front or back, but we managed to get him eventually to leave most of the down alone so he went from being "oven ready" to having a furry little grey body. We never found out for sure what abuse he suffered in his original home/s but we pieced together a few things from his behaviour, mainly a deep distrust of children, which meant unfortunately he never really liked either me or my sister. Even when we had grown up, his parroty intelligence meant he never forgot we had once been kids. We suspect some of his younger former owners used to poke him through the bars of his pathetically small cage. He had a happy life, and once we realised he was pretty good at not destroying furniture he was out of his (much larger) cage nearly all the time. Instead he spent his time on a stand in the dining room, watching the world go by at the centre of activity in our house. We even took him on a family canal barge holiday. We put a Jolly Roger on the side and entertained people at the canal side pubs when we moored up and ordered his favourite treat, chips (I'm british, so this doesn't mean buckets of salt, don't worry!). He had a pretty good vocabulary, but his ability to put words and sounds into context was the best entertainment. He'd always make sniffly nose noises if he saw a tissue and answered the phone with a cheery "Hello!" when it was picked up. Any time we tried to get him into a carrier to take him to the vet he would scream "HELP! HELP! HELP!" at the top of his voice, so it sounded like we were kidnapping someone. Best not to think about how he picked that one up  He loved deep boomy voices, singing along tunelessly to the radio and he LOVED the Teletubbies. It's a shame youtube wasn't around back then or he could've been a superstar. One time he decided to forage under the table and mistook my little toe for a peanut. Fortunately his method for eating peanuts was first to delicately remove the skin, so I still have my toe! He also used to skin garden peas the same way. We had him for about 15 years until 2006 when he had his usual breakfast of porridge, chuckled quietly to himself and just keeled over from some sort of sudden heart attack or aneurysm. We'll never know what exactly did him in - the other parrots we had were fine so it's unlikely to have been environmental. We console ourselves with the knowledge that at least he had 5 times more happy years than sad years, even if he died 50 years too young for a big macaw.
|
#
?
Nov 16, 2015 19:26
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 11, 2024 22:40 |
|
|
Aww, poor Basil. It sounds like he was a wonderful bird.
|
|
#
?
Nov 16, 2015 21:04
|
|
|
 Max is not good at playing the xylophone.
|
|
#
?
Nov 16, 2015 23:13
|
|
|
Mizuti posted:
I love how shocked he is when he moves it closer to his face  
|
|
#
?
Nov 16, 2015 23:30
|
|
|
CROWS EVERYWHERE posted:I love how shocked he is when he moves it closer to his face  It's such a look of cartoonish surprise
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 03:59
|
|
|
Hug in a Can posted:One of my budgies does this, too! I think he's licking food residue off of it. No big deal. It was the level of focus that was worrying us, I think. It's rare to see this 'tiel pay attention to something for any period of time, but something about licking the dish required full and undivided attention for minutes at a time! Thanks for the assurances everyone, so long as it doesn't get obsessive about it I'll try not to worry 
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 04:02
|
|
|
Brought Scout in for her annual checkup. Dr. MacDonald was very happy with her health, diet, and colour. We have a happy healthy needy birb.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 07:56
|
|
|
Also there were two Macaws and a Sulpur Crested Cockatoo being boarded in the reception area, and they were awesome. Desire to be a big bird parent rising!
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 07:59
|
|
|
So we got Taco one of these, as it seems to be a simple enough puzzle for him to wrap his tiny little brain around and also fill his 'chew the gently caress out of everything' needs: http://www.myparrotshop.com/foraging-toys/cfs-food-treat-dispenser-small-vertical/prod_429.html Any suggestions for treats to jam inside it for him to find?
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 12:16
|
|
|
mikerock posted:Brought Scout in for her annual checkup. Dr. MacDonald was very happy with her health, diet, and colour. We have a happy healthy needy birb. 'Sup shirt bird buddy? 
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 12:17
|
|
|
 Alternatively,  
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 12:39
|
|
|
Finally, a photo trend I can't bandwagon onGoldStandardConure posted:So we got Taco one of these, as it seems to be a simple enough puzzle for him to wrap his tiny little brain around and also fill his 'chew the gently caress out of everything' needs: What do the boxes look like inside? We were going to get Steve one at some point. Maybe a millet or two, stood up, so wherever he chews he'll be able to see and reach part of it?
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 16:38
|
|
|
So yesterday I learned that Charlie HATES millet. He angrily flung the spray away every time I offered it to him. It also just dawned on me he never eats the millet in NutriBerries either.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 16:43
|
|
|
Bird thread I have a question: my daughter made these "healthy flapjacks" at school with all the good stuff like seeds and fruit in them, but they also contain butter and golden syrup. Unfortunately they were left in the oven too long and are rock hard. Can I give them to my birds?
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 17:00
|
|
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZgY-qe5Azs There is nothing in the bowl but birb.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 17:22
|
|
|
How much butter? how much syrup? Some birds love crunching things up, unless it's burned, don't give them actually burned food. Dry isn't an issue.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 17:26
|
|
|
After several "I don't know" and "God!"s We have determined that it was 4tbs of melted butter and 4tbs of golden syrup to 250g of oats + fruit not burnt just the consistency of rock. I don't know how she managed that tbh.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 17:38
|
|
|
Slaughterhouse-Ive posted:So yesterday I learned that Charlie HATES millet. He angrily flung the spray away every time I offered it to him. It also just dawned on me he never eats the millet in NutriBerries either. Millet sprays are sometimes deadly snakes which must be vanquished
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 17:40
|
|
|
learnincurve posted:After several "I don't know" and "God!"s We have determined that it was 4tbs of melted butter and 4tbs of golden syrup to 250g of oats + fruit not burnt just the consistency of rock. I don't know how she managed that tbh. You can give a little bit, hardness won't be an issue unless you have a toucan or acari. Might make more of a mess though. What sized bird(s)?
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 17:46
|
|
|
nielsm posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZgY-qe5Azs Reflective, echoey, and nest shaped. The perfect toy.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 17:51
|
|
|
Jack Forge posted:You can give a little bit, hardness won't be an issue unless you have a toucan or acari. Might make more of a mess though. What sized bird(s)? Medium parakeet/cockatiel size and a budgie, she made them in small cupcake cases which will make them easier to break up with a hammer if you think one per cage would be too much.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 17:58
|
|
|
It's all about concentration and total amounts of the butter compared to the size of the birds. If she made 2 dozen + of those one a week should be ok. Look of recipes that have no butter or use more bird friendly fats. A whole one per bird would be like you eating a few sticks of butter in a sitting.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 18:04
|
|
|
Thank you for that, I'll smash one and put half in each cage and bin the rest, not even the dogs would try one, so at least it won't be a total waste.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 20:00
|
|
|
Hello there birdgoons! I've been lurking a long while and finally I have made some bird friends and wanted to say hi! Hello everyone! About a year ago I was asking, "Why would anyone want a bird as a pet?! It's not a mammal!" and I watched that Parrots Confidential movie and cried about macaws. So I read the entire chicken thread, and also this thread... and joined the Audubon society... and met some friends who have birds, and finally made bird friends. Now I have two cockatiel friends (one who is 21 years old and named Paul who loves scritches and whistling Vivaldi. He does the weird bobbing his throat up and down because he wants me to regurgitate in his mouth). I went to a exotic bird rescue for my birthday and got to dance with Cockatoos and Macaws and African Greys whose owners had passed away. I met conures in person for the first time. I expected to be all "CONURES FOR THE CONURE GOD" but I think I may be on team cockatiel myself, though I love all of them. In any case, I am expressing my gratitude to you guys for helping me learn all about birds so I could begin to love them. Will post pics when I get back to my desktop and figure out how to upload them.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 21:10
|
|
|
Welcome friend, you are amongst people who will happily spend an hour staring into a cage like it's tv.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 21:17
|
|
|
Crossposting from PYF. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 21:26
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:Crossposting from PYF. Oh no! My heart!  How are they so fluffy? This level of cute is almost lethal.Also purse birbs should totally be a thing
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 21:30
|
|
|
Put a macaw in your handbag and any sneaky purse snatcher's going to know about it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 21:32
|
|
|
learnincurve posted:Put a macaw in your handbag and any sneaky purse snatcher's going to know about it. I guarantee a mugger would think twice if I was carrying a cockatoo.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 21:35
|
|
|
Shirec posted:I guarantee a mugger would think twice if I was carrying a cockatoo. If anyone shady approaches... 
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 22:13
|
|
|
Shirec posted:Also purse birbs should totally be a thing Simon sometimes gets in these moods where he's obsessed with my purse. Then it becomes his purse and I'm not allowed to touch it or anything contained within it until he grows bored with it again.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 23:32
|
|
|
Tsaedje posted:Millet sprays are sometimes deadly snakes which must be vanquished By voracious eating. A birb that dislikes millet is a strange birb.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2015 23:55
|
|
|
VioletCorsica posted:Hello there birdgoons! I've been lurking a long while and finally I have made some bird friends and wanted to say hi! Hello everyone! Hello new bird friend That's how Steve was advertised, as whistling classical music/Vivaldi. He actually did at first. Then we tried teaching him something new, he broke, and doesn't properly know anything any more. Paul is also a suitably excellent/dumb name for a cockatiel too, very good. Cythereal posted:Crossposting from PYF. This is weapons-grade cute
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2015 00:06
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:Crossposting from PYF.  
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2015 01:05
|
|
|
Battle Pigeon posted:Finally, a photo trend I can't bandwagon on Two part box, a simple brown cardboard box that folds up and fits neatly into the holder, and some thin partitions you can insert into the box to divide it up into 6 sections. The box also has a little punch-out bit on each side, so your bird has something to actually get his beak onto and I guess let them know there is something inside? Taco took to biting up the cardboard right away (before we had even put the box inside the holder), and was SUPER INTERESTED in watching me fill it with treats. I'll report back when I get home from work as to what state its in, whether he has figured out snacks are hidden within or has put it in the too hard basket and given up.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2015 01:39
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:Crossposting from PYF. Even lutino tiel is impressed by his buddy's fluffiness
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2015 01:56
|
|
|
Slaughterhouse-Ive posted:Even lutino tiel is impressed by his buddy's fluffiness
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2015 03:51
|
|
|
Toast has taken to grooming herself whenever I bring out my little hand mirror (she demands use of it when I want to do my eyebrows etc). Does this mean she recognises herself and is grooming herself in response to that, or she thinks it's another bird and grooms herself because she feels like she's in close company and safe to focus on grooming?
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2015 04:49
|
|
|
nielsm posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZgY-qe5Azs What do you mean? there's another birb in the corner of the bowl
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2015 04:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 11, 2024 22:40 |
|
|
CrazyLittle posted:What do you mean? there's another birb in the corner of the bowl It's a weird shape and colour too! Something is clearly going on there!
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2015 06:20
|
|